Supreme Court takes up Catholic objection to Colorado’s preschool program
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday considered its latest case asserting religious rights, agreeing to hear arguments that Colorado should exempt Catholic entities from a nondiscrimination provision in its state-funded preschool program.
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The Archdiocese of Denver, which operates 34 preschools, says it is excluded from the statewide program because of a nondiscrimination rule that prohibits preschools from denying admission to a child on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
The archdiocese claims this conflicts with its religious rights under the First Amendment of the Constitution because Catholic religious doctrine does not. do not recognize same-sex relationships or transgender status.
Also involved in the case are two Catholic parishes from Littleton and Lakewood, as well as two parishioners, Daniel and Lisa Sheley. The Sheleys have five children, two of whom are currently in preschool.
The Trump administration filed a brief in favor of the archdiocese, urging the court to take up the case.
The preschool program, approved in a statewide referendum in 2020, provides public funds for parents to send their children to the preschool of their choice.
At the center of the archdiocese’s argument is the significance of a 1990 Supreme Court ruling entitled Employment Division v. Smith, who said religious exemptions are not required when a law applies equally to everyone.
Archdiocese lawyers say Catholic entities should be granted an exemption in this case because the law and related regulations are already riddled with loopholes that give preschools some leeway in evaluating applications. (Schools, for example, can give priority to children with disabilities and those from low-income families.) Therefore, the law does not apply equally under the Supreme Court’s ruling, they say.
The state counters that the focus should only be on the nondiscrimination provision itself, which provides no exemption, meaning that, under Supreme Court precedent, Catholic preschools should not benefit from an exclusion.
The archdiocese sued in 2023, but lost in federal district court and the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority that often supports religious rights claims. In recent years, he has issued a series of rulings that lowered limits on religious entities participating in government programs, including those related to education.
